What should you know about Santa Rosa, California

1. Geography

Santa Rosa lies on the Santa Rosa Plain and it is located in Sonoma County, just 55 miles north of San Francisco, via the Golden Gate Bridge. The eastern part of the city stretches into the Valley of the Moon and the Sonoma Valley, while the western edge lies in the Laguna de Santa Rosa catchment basin.

Santa Rosa and other cities such as Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Windsor, and smaller towns like Sonoma, Healdsburg and Sebastopol, belong to the North Bay region.

The terrain is mostly flat, drained by a number of creeks including the Santa Rosa Creek, Brush Creek, Matanzas Creek, and Piner Creek.

Laguna Santa Rosa, Fountaingrove Lake, Lake Ralphine, and Santa Rosa Creek Reservoir are also other water bodies that run through the city.

Santa Rosa lies along the US Route 101 corridor and has a total area of 41.50 sq. mi, of which 41.29 sq. mi is land and 0.205 sq. mi is water.

Residents and visitors enjoy beautiful views of Bennett Peak, Mount Hood, and Sonoma and Taylor Mountains at the eastern portion of the city.

1.a Climate

Santa Rosa has a Mediterranean climate; the winters are generally cool and wet, while the summers are warm and dry. During the mornings and evenings in the summer, fog and low overcast arrive to the city from the Pacific Ocean, but they usually clear up by late morning or noon as the day warms up. The same foggy conditions return later in the evening and sometimes the brume covers the city all day.

The area gets 40 inches of rain annually, and the number of days with any measurable precipitation is around 73.

Residents enjoy 256 sunny days per year. The July high is usually 83 degrees, while the January low is 38.

According to Wikipedia.com there are an average of 28.9 days with highs of 90 °F or more and an average of 30.2 days with lows reaching the freezing mark.
Light amounts of snow fall sometimes in the nearby mountains, but it is very rare in lower areas.

2. Economy

Santa Rosa became the economic engine that drives the North Bay region, thanks to successful entrepreneurial and technology businesses. Through the years, residents have demonstrated a deep appreciation for conscientious business development and quality living.

Many industries, including agriculture, high-tech, biomedical, education, environmental, and of course, tourism are booming due in part to several policies implemented by the City such as: a one-stop permitting process, easy access to Planning & Economic Development staff, collaborative partnerships with key business players such as the local chambers of commerce, higher education institutes, brokers, benchmark industries, and community organizations, as well as collaboration from a global venture community, to name a few.

The top employers in the city are: County of Sonoma with 4,058 employees; Kaiser Permanente – 2,555; Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa – 1,797; St. Joseph Health System – 1,740; Santa Rosa Junior College – 1,589; Santa Rosa School District – 1,502; City of Santa Rosa – 1,250; Keysight/Agilent Technologies – 1,200; Amy’s Kitchen – 870; and Medtronic Aortic and Peripheral Disease Management – 840.

Moonlight Brewing Company, Russian River Brewing Company and ATIV Software are some of the prominent smaller businesses in the community.

Santa Rosa boats several neighborhood shopping centers and large commercial districts such as the well-known Santa Rosa Plaza, with more than 100 merchants; Coddingtown Mall with over 40; and Montgomery Village, an open-air mall with over 70 shops.

3. Government

Santa Rosa’s City Council includes seven members elected from the City-at-large. The Council establishes policies, approves programs, and oversees the financial affairs of the City.

In the United States House of Representatives, Santa Rosa is in California’s 5th congressional district, represented by Democrat Mike Thompson, and in the California State Legislature, the city is in California’s 2nd State Senate district. The city is split between California’s 2nd and 10th State Assembly districts.

4. Education

Several school districts serve the community, including Bellevue Union, Bennett Valley Union, Mark West Union, Oak Grove Union, Piner-Olivet Union, Rincon Valley Union, Roseland Public Schools, Santa Rosa City Schools and Wright.

Among the notable private schools in the city we find: Cardinal Newman High School (9-12), Redwood Adventist Academy (K-12), Rincon Valley Christian School (K-12), Sonoma Academy (9-12), St. Eugene’s cathedral school, St. Luke’s Elementary School, St. Rose Elementary School, Sonoma Country Day School (K-8), Summerfield Waldorf School (K-12) and Stuart School (K-8).

Empire College, Santa Rosa Junior College, and the University of San Francisco (USF) – Santa Rosa are the main higher education options in the community.

4.a Library

The Sonoma County Library manages 3 branches in San Rosa: the Central Library located in downtown, the Northwest branch at Coddingtown Mall, and a Rincon Valley branch in east Santa Rosa.

The Santa Rosa Central Library is the largest branch and it has been providing library services to the residents since 1859. A Local History and Genealogy Annex operates behind the facility.

Some of the services offered by this branch include: 20 one hour internet computers, 1 large type, 1 ADA compliant, fifteen minute internet computers, 3 research stations, 7 catalog computers, 1 Public Printer, 2 Copy machines, 1 public electronic typewriter, 2 Microfilm reader/printers, one with laptop/scanning capabilities, 1 Printer Magnifier and 1 Video Relay Service. The facility also provides the following resources for children: 5 one hour internet computers, 2 game computers, 3 catalog computers, 1 printer and 1 CD Listening Station.

The Sonoma County Courthouse houses the Sonoma County Public Law Library, while the four-story Frank P. Doyle Library is a state-of-the-art facility located inside of the Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) that houses a library, media services, and Academic Computing Departments, as well as the college art gallery, tutorial center and Center for New Media, which is a multimedia production facility for the college faculty.

5. Infrastructure

5.a Transportation

The Transit Division of Santa Rosa operates: Santa Rosa CityBus, a fixed route public transit system within the City limits; a fleet of 33 buses, 17 fixed routes, over 400 bus stops, Santa Rosa Paratransit (for those who are unable, temporarily or permanently, to independently use Santa Rosa CityBus due to a disability or health related condition), curb-to-curb vans for those who can’t utilize CityBus service, and eleven Paratransit vans and three sedans.

The Transit Division provides service for over 2.8 million passenger trips annually, and supports the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board which is appointed by the Santa Rosa City Council. The main goal is to create facilities, programs and policies to design transportation projects that encourage residents and visitors to enjoy all the benefits of walking and bicycling.

The Learn to Ride CityBus Travel Training Program is designed to introduce senior citizens to the benefits of riding Santa Rosa CityBus. The classes are free and offered on the second Monday of the month at 9:30 a.m. at the Santa Rosa Senior Center.

The Santa Rosa Free Ride Trip Reduction Incentive Program was created for Santa Rosa area employers who would like to encourage their employees to try a money saving, environment helping, traffic reducing commute alternative such as walking, biking, carpooling or taking the bus to work.

Recently, CityBus launched a cell phone app program called My Santa Rosa CityBus to help bus riders accessing real-time arrival and departure information in order to better plan their rides. The program is the result of Santa Rosa CityBus upgrading their entire fleet with Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receivers to facilitate a new Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system.

With My Santa Rosa CityBus residents and visitors get scheduled and real-time CityBus departure information for any CityBus on any route at any stop. The program monitors the real-time location of all CityBuses in operation to help riders find out the scheduled departure time, if their bus is running late, and the actual time their bus will depart from their stop.

Using a desktop computer, a cell phone or other mobile device, riders are able to access this simple and free service; and by clicking on the Set Alert button, they can select the CityBus route and stop they want, in order to set up how far in advance they want to be notified. My Santa Rosa CityBus will send them an email alert when their bus is on the way to their bus stop.

If the users take the same bus often, they can set up a profile to receive alerts regularly and they can even see the buses traveling around the map in real-time!

CityBus also plans to implement a new bus system in early 2017 with the following improvements: an all new bus system map, renumbered bus routes (low numbers for frequent routes on high ridership corridors, and high numbers for routes with lower frequency and ridership), all new schedules for each route, redesigned bus stop signs with information on accessing real-time bus arrival information at each stop, and several new bus stops and improvements to existing bus stops and pedestrian facilities to provide better access for transit riders.

5.b Utilities

The City of Santa Rosa Water Department provides water and sewer service to 52,000 residents, and it also operates a wastewater treatment plant and recycled water distribution system that serves a population of 230,000.

Santa Rosa Water is governed by a seven-member Board appointed by the Santa Rosa City Council.

North Bay Corporation provides free collection service of household appliances such as washers, dryers and refrigerators, and also furniture, mattresses, carpets, exercise equipment, household electronics such as stereos, televisions, computers, VCRs and landscaping materials, tires and other similar items.

6. Point of Interest

Santa Rosa offers a great wine, beer and culinary scene. The community is in fact, the happening hub in Sonoma County. There are many wineries and vineyards nearby, due its location at the northwestern gateway to the Sonoma and Napa Valleys.

Some of the popular wineries include: Benovia Winery, Balletto Vineyards, Battaglini Estate Winery, Copain Wines, Davis Family Vineyards, De Loach Vineyards, Dutton-Goldfield, Harvest Moon Estate & Winery, Hook and Ladder, Fisher Vineyards, Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, Kokomo Wines, Ledson Winery and Vineyards and Martin Ray Winery.

Santa Rosa wineries stretch over a large area, and they are located in 3 different wine regions: Russian River Valley, Bennett Valley, and the Sonoma Valley Appellation. A variety of excellent restaurants are also a main attraction nearby.

Downtown Santa Rosa features restaurants, shopping, nightclubs, theaters, banks, professional offices, the City Hall and state and federal office buildings. The Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital medical center is located to the east of downtown.

The History Museum of Sonoma County, located at 425 Seventh Street, documents the region’s rich land and history, and it serves the community as a gathering place and educational forum.

Another museum in the city is the Art Museum of Sonoma County, where visitors can appreciate national and international, modern and contemporary art. The facility serves also as a creative forum, as well as a public gathering place.

Santa Rosa is the only city where residents and visitors find a City park, a County park and a State park joined by a trail system. The regional parks provide excellent recreational opportunities such as fishing, camping, swimming, picnicking; trails for horseback riding, hiking, bicycling; beautiful areas including quiet coves, sandy beaches, redwood groves, meadows with oak trees, sports fields, and much more. Some of the popular parks in Santa Rosa are: Spring Lake Regional Park, GeeseAnnadel State Park, and Trione Annadel State Park.

The Prince Memorial Greenway is a bicycle and pedestrian path along Santa Rosa Creek through downtown, and out to the west of town.

The nearby cities of Bodega Bay, Calistoga, Guerneville, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Sonoma, and Windsor are very popular with tourists and accessible from Santa Rosa.

Other local attractions that people enjoy in Santa Rosa are: The Hotel La Rose (that functions as a historic hotel in downtown), Railroad Square ( which has the highest concentration of historic commercial buildings), The Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, the Snoopy’s Home Ice skating rink, the Carrillo Adobe (the first home on the site of the future Santa Rosa), Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, and also, historic residential neighborhoods (a number of old neighborhoods in and around downtown, containing numerous old homes, including many Victorian residences).

Conclusion

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6 Reasons to Move to Santa Rosa, CA